Process for the continuous manufacture of marbelized soap bars

ABSTRACT

PROCESS FOR THE CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURE OF MARBELIZED SOAP BARS INVOLVING THE USE OF A SOAP PLODDER PROVIDED WITH A CONICAL NOZZLE AND WHEREIN DYE SOLUTIONS ARE INTRODUCED INTO THE SOAP MASS THROUGH AT LEAST TWO INLETS ARRANGED IN THE JACKET FOR THE PLODDER, AT LEAST ONE OF THE INLETS BEING ARRANGED SO THAT IT IS SEPARATED FROM THE INPUT END OF THE SCREW BY AT LEAST ONE SCREW THREAD AND FROM THE OUTLET END BY THREE TO SEVEN SCREW THREADS, AND AT LEAST ONE ADDITIONAL INLET WHICH IS ARRANGED AT THE FIRST TO THIRD SCREW THREAD FROM THE DISCHARGE END OF THE SCREW, THE DISTNCE BETWEEN THE TWO INLETS AMOUNTING TO AT LEAST ONE SCREW THREAD.

May 16, 1972 w MEYE ETAL PROCESS FOR THE CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURE OF MARBLEIZED SOAP BARS Filed April 25, 1969 nnu.....-.---.----""--..

INVENTORS RONALD WALTER MEYE BY awn-a 77104 WW 7 ATTORNEK United States Patent 015cc 3,663,671 Patented May 16, 1972 3,663,671 PROCESS FOR THE CONTINUOUS MANUFAC- TURE OF MARBELIZED SOAP BARS Reinhold Walter Meye, Krefeld, and Gunter Thor, Krefeld-Traar, Germany, assignors to Henkel & Cie G.m.b.H., Dusseldorf, Germany Filed Apr. 23, 1969, Ser. No. 818,756 Claims priority, application Germany, May 2, 1968, P 17 67 353.9 Int. Cl. B29b 1/04; B29f 3/12; Clld 13/08 US. Cl. 264-75. 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Process for the continuous manufacture of marbelized soap bars involving the use of a soap plodder provided with a conical nozzle and wherein dye solutions are introduced into the soap mass through at least two inlets arranged in the jacket for the plodder, at least one of the inlets being arranged so that it is separated from the input end of the screw by at least one screw thread and from the outlet end by three to seven screw threads, and at least one additional inlet which is arranged at the first to third screw thread from the discharge end of the screw, the distance between the two inlets amounting to at least one screw thread.

This invention relates to a continuous process for manufacturing soap bars having a marbelized appearance.

In German Pat. 429,937 and Austrian Pat. 95,947 there have been described apparatus and methods for use in the extrusion of plastic compositions having a variegation or marbling in the interior thereof or on their surfaces.

According to German Pat. 429,937, a conical hollow mandrel equipped with numerous nozzles in a spiral arrangement is inserted into the extrusion nozzle and the colored material is then forced into the ground material by means of a second extrusion press.

According to the Austrian Pat. 95,947 strands or ribbons of soap of different colors are introduced into a plodder and from there extruded together.

Neither of the above-described processes has proved to be technically satisfactory. The first procedure requires the installation of expensive and troublesome Austrian patent results in soap bars which are only of one color on their surfaces. In order to make the marbling a visible the bars have to be shaved oif on all sides. This clearly has an adverse effect on the economy of the process.

-An object of this invention is to provide a process of producing soap cakes or bars which are entirely marbelized both on their surfaces and in their interior, and which have an attractive appearance that unmistakably identifies the soap, not only before it is put to use, but also after any amount of use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a process for more simply and economically producing soap cakes or bars which are entirely marbelized both on their surfaces and in their interior and which have an attractive appearance and that unmistakably identifiies the soap, not only before it is put to use, but also after any amount of use.

These and other objects and advantages are realized by the discovery that marbelized soap bars can be continuously manufactured using an ordinary screw-type soap plodder equipped with a conical nozzle and introducing the dye solutions into the soap mass through at least two feeding means located in the jacket of the plodder, at least one feeding means being so arranged that it is separated from the input end of the screw by at least one spiral of the screw and is located at the third to seventh screw spiral from the discharge end of the screw, and at least one additional feeding means is disposed at the first to third screw spiral from the discharge end of the screw, the spacing between the two feeding means amounting to at least one screw spiral.

The process of the invention can be carried out with soap plodders of conventional construction. It has been found to be advantageous to use plodders in which the screw has 5 to 15, and preferably 7 to 12 spirals. As the mixing of the soap mass inside of the plodder increases as the pressure increases, it is advantageous to control the presure in the plodder so that it does not rise above 50 kg/cm. and preferably amounts to from 3 to 30 k-g./cm. The pressure is dependent on the one hand on the cross section of the nozzle opening, and on the other hand it can be varied by means of a perforated strainer disk which is disposed at the discharge end of the screw and through which the soap mass is forced. According to the invention it has been found that particularly suitable performated strainer disks are those in which the ratio between the open area and the closed area amounts to between 1:2.5 and 1:45. Such strainer disks are constructed so as to have opening diameters of at least 5 mm. and preferably of from 8 to 20 mm.

The temperature prevailing in the soap plodder should be maintained under 60 C. if possible. This in some cases necessitates the cooling of the plodder. For this purpose plodders of conventional construction are provided with cooling jackets. Preferably the plodding is carried out with a soap bar temperature of 30 to 50 C.

The dye is introduced into the soap through at least two feeding means. The first feeding means according to the present invention, is located so that the soap entering the plodder has passed at least one screw spiral before it comes into contact with the dye. After the initial dye introduction the soap passes through three to seven more screw spirals before it is discharged from the screw. The area in which the first feeding means is located shall be referred to hereinafter for the sake of brevity as the middle area. Any number of feeding means can be located in the middle area, although from 1 to 3 feeding means have been found to be entirely sufficient for the purpose of the instant invention. The dye solution fed into the middle area serves principally for coloring the inner portions of the soap bar. The amount of dye introduced at this point should amount to from 30 to of the total quantity of dye that is to be used.

The remaining dye solution is introduced into the soap in the so-called end area which is located at the first to third scre'w spiral from the discharge end of the screw. The end area is separated from the middle area by at least one, and preferably by 2 to 4 screw spirals. The dye solution introduced into the end area serves mainly for coloring the marginal portions of the soap bar. The number of feeding means located in this zone amounts preferably to from 2 to 6, although any desired number of such feeding means can be used. The feeding means can be spaced apart from one another as desired and distribution over the periphery of the plodder. Alternatively they can also be located in a star-like arrangement, for example.

By varying the number and arrangement of the dye feeding means and of the quantities of dye fed, it is possible to vary the appearance of the soap to a considerable extent. For example, if the dye solution which is introduced at the end area is delivered close to the discharge end of the screw, in the area of the last spiral,

for example, the marbling effect achieved is sharp-edged. If the dye solution is delivered in the area of the second to third spiral, from the discharge end of the screw, the colors blend softly into one another. Finally, differentcolored solutions can be fed into the various areas and feeding means in order to achieve numerous attractive color combinations. Another possibility for achieving variation is to color the soap mass itself before it is delivered to the plodder.

Dyes commonly used in the soap industry can be used to color the soap. It is desirable to add thickening agents to the dye solutions in order to increase their viscosities. Suitable thickening agents are, for example, cellulose derivatives, such as cellulose glycolate or methyl cellulose, alginates, starch, hydrolyzed proteins, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyacrylates, polyglycols and other polymers of natural or synthetic origin which can be dissolved in water or can be made to swell in water.

For the production of pastel-toned marbling, generally from 10 to 40 g. of dye are needed per 100 kg. of soap. Several times that amount that is from two to five times that amount are required to produce a brightly patterned soap.

The soap bar following its removal from the dye can be cut into cakes and pressed in the customary manner.

The diagrammatic construction of the plodder which may be used is to be derived from the accompanying drawing in which FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section and FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the apparatus. The device consists of a cylindrical plodder jacket (A), a cooling jacket (B), a soap inlet (C), a screw (D), a strainer disk (E) and an extrusion nozzle (F). The first dye feeding means (G) is located in the middle area (I) and the second feeding means (H, H, H") are located in the end area (K) of the plodder.

The followin gexample is given in order to more clearly illustrate the invention, but it is not to be construed in limitation thereof.

EXAMPLE A plodder of conventional construction (Manufactured by Mazzoni, of Busto Arsizio, Italy) of 31.0 cm. internal diameter having a screw of 9 spirals and a length of 140 cm. was used. One of the dye solution feeding means was loacted at the 5th spiral from the discharge end. Three additional feeding means were arranged at the second spiral from the discharge end of the screw at angles of 120 to one another in a star arrangement. The feeding means were connected by hoses to proportioning pumps and pressure gauges for indicating the plodder pressure. Between the screw and the conically shaped nozzle there was placed a perforated strainer disk having a diameter of 31.0 cm., corresponding to a cross section of 754.8 cm. Three suitable disks were available:

Openings Total open area Dia- Nummeter Perber (0111.) Cm.- cent a 158 1. 5 279. 2 37 b- 193 1. 2 218. 3 20 o 502 0. 8 252. 4 34 4 was injected into each 100 kilograms of soap. 40% of the dye delivered to the middle area and 60% to the end area.

The soap bar which was discharged from the plodder was cut and pressed into cakes. The scraps from the stamping were collected and then used for tinting fresh soap, being delivered for this purpose to a mixer from which it passed through a homogenizer back into the plodder.

The soap cakes, both in their interiors and on their surfaces, showed an attractive coloration resembling marble in some cases and wood grain in others.

We claim:

1. Process for the continuous manufacture of marbelized soap bars utilizing a soap plodder provided with a conical die which comprises conveying a soap mass at a temperature not exceeding 60 C. through a plodder by means of a screw having from 5 to 15 screw threads, introducing dye solutions into the soap mass through at least two inlets arranged in the jacketing for the plodder, at least one of said inlets being arranged so that it is spaced from the input end of the screw by at least one screw thread and from the outlet end of the screw by three to seven screw threads, and at least one additional inlet arranged at the first to third screw thread from the discharge end of the screw, the distance between the two inlets amounting to at least one screw thread, maintaining the pressure in said plodder at a value not exceeding 3 to 30 kg./cm. and moving said soap mass through a perforated disk located at the discharge end of said screw, said disk having a ratio of open area to closed area amounting to between 1:25 and 1:4.5, the openings in said perforated disk having diameters of at least 5 mm.

2. Process according to claim 1 wherein the openings in said perforated disk have diameters of at least 8 to 20 mm.

3. Process according to claim 1 which comprises maintaining the temperature in said soap mass at a value not exceeding 30 to 50 C.

4. Process according to claim 1 which comprises introducing 30 to of the total amount of the dye to be introduced through at least one inlet arranged at the third to seventh screw threads from the inlet end of said screw.

5. Process according to claim 1 which comprises introducing 20 to 70% of the total amount of the dye to be introduced through two to six inlets arranged at the first to third screw threads from the outlet end of said screw.

6. Process according to claim 1 which comprises incorporating into said dye solutions a thickening agent.

7. Process according to claim 1 which comprises introducing 10 to 40 g. of dye per kg. of soap.

8. Process according to claim 1 which comprises introducing 20 to 200 g. of dye per 100 kg. of soap.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,296,842 9/1942 Garvey et al. 264l48 3,398,219 8/1968 Kelly et al. 264-148 3,434,974 3/1969 Austin et a1. 264--211 3,485,905 12/1969 Compa et at. 264102 ROBERT F. WHITE, Primary Examiner J. R. THURLOW, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

